Just checking in...

Hello friends! Again a week (or more) has gone by without a post...I try, really I do, but life is hectic and boring for the most part. I do have a beautiful quilt to share with you all today though. This quilt was made by my little sister, Pamela, for our Mom's birthday.

Isn't it gorgeous! She did a wonderful job on it and she has only been sewing/quilting for just under a year!!!! Good job Pam, I'm excited to see what you come up with next!!!

Oh and I finished my Pie's and Tart's quilt top completely!!!

I'm not sure how I want this quilted yet so this will go into the quilt closet for a little while. I started this quilt in February 2009 and finished May 2010 and it was a bom that I did through Sue Daley. I added in lots of background fabrics from what was sent and even added other fabrics, just to make it more my own. I really enjoyed making this quilt and I'm a little lost without having it to work on :o)

Right now I'm working on some embroidery blocks in the evenings and a little Kaffe in my sewing room. Love that Kaffe Fassett fabric and his books too. I think I've got them all. They work very well as coffee table books, as they are so beautiful!

Here are some pictures of our yard. Everything looks so pretty...Jay really has a knack for laying it out and keeping things beautiful.

Hopefully the summer won't be too hot and dry and we will get to enjoy all this without running the sprinklers all the time.
It's a 3 day weekend coming up in the United States to honor & remember all of our service men and women who've died while in service to our Country. Thank you to them and their families for the sacrifice. May you have a Blessed Memorial Day weekend. Be safe! ranette

Very stressful evening in Stillwater, Oklahoma...

Well in many parts of Oklahoma, actually. Springtime in tornado alley...gotta love it! With the advance of technology we now know days in advance that the weather will be "ripe" for tornado outbreaks and let me tell you last night it was just that.

It's not very often that the weathermen tell the good people of Stillwater that we've got a huge super cell coming right down the main highway for miles and miles and miles, but we did.

I did not take this beautifully scary picture, but my daughter Kara's friend Sean McGuire did and you may have even seen it on The Weather Channel.

I didn't take this picture either, but it looked like this right over my house, which is just over a mile from where this was taken. It was tense for a little while, but God tells us in His Word that we can calm the seas and I believe Him, so we prayed and believed and we were still scared, but thank you Lord, we were alright!

Stillwater only had minor damage and it happened less than a mile from my house. A fast food restaurant lost parts of it's roof and maybe part of the building, trees broken and twisted and the high school may have had some minor damage, but we're not sure...Allie is really hoping school will be canceled today, but I'm sure it won't....lol

A friend of Kara's named Alex Davis took this picture....it reminds me that God always keeps His promises and that makes me glad!

Have a good Thursday...I know I will :o) ranette

So it seems that I've lost the first two weeks of May...

Actually the last 3 or 4 weeks have been a bit of a blur! First thank you for the nice emails checking on me. My 96 year old Grandpa passed away the last week of April so I had to help deal with all that goes along with that. I really think it was his time as he outlived his wife and both of his children and that made him so sad. I believe that he is now at peace though.

However there was a lot of work to be done at his farm in Southeastern Colorado to prepare it for sale. It hadn't been lived in for 7 years and nothing had been thrown away for 60 years. I didn't take many pictures, but here's one of my brother burning the old grainery.

The wind was calm and quiet when we started, but it soon turned very windy and ugly outside....

Luckily my brother and Jay were able to keep it under control...whew! The farm did sell, although there are still some things to deal with.

I didn't sew one single stitch for almost two weeks....gasp....which means I didn't meet the April sewing goals that I had set for myself and even when I got back home I was just too tired for a few days.
But I finally made myself get back in gear and kept on going with the Pumpkin Quilt and here it is....Finished....finally....well at least the top is done.

Now maybe I can get it quilted before Fall. I'm actually pretty pleased with how this turned out...working on it was something that I usually had to "make" myself do and I'm not sure why.
I'm still stitching on the Pie's and Tart's quilt...it's just slow going. I've been fighting off the urge to start something new and then this arrived in my mailbox yesterday and the battle is over....I will be starting something new very soon.

So much inspiration!!!
It's a rainy, stormy day here in Oklahoma, wish I could just stay home and sew, but nope I'm off to work in a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!

ranette

If I don't meet my weekend sewing goals

it's because Kara and I met a celebrity! The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond was at the Stillwater Hastings today for a book signing and don't you know that we just had to go meet her. Here we are after 3 hours of standing in line...I look extra funny because it looks like I was talking...lol

We made friends in line...hey guys....Becky and her family drove all the way up from Houston.

Becky's hubby even went on a Sonic run...hey we got thirsty!

I'd say he was a keeper, wouldn't you?!
Ree was just so personable and gracious and it was a pleasure to meet her. I've made several of her recipes from the cookbook (I've had mine for a couple of months) and everything has been delicious, but not fat free :o)

One more picture of Kara and Ree

Good times!

Ranette

Just to show you that I haven't been slacking in everything

I'm posting a picture of my "almost" finished Pie's and Tart's quilt that I took last night. Isn't it divine?!!!!

I think I can finish this top before the end of April, I hope. This is a Sue Daley design...very talented lady and I'm excited to make another one of her quilts someday.

I've also been plugging away on The Great Pumpkin blocks, but I have no pictures to show you right now. I'm going to try to get them sashed and together this weekend...we'll see how that goes.

I'm still working on putting up a giveaway very soon, I just need to get it organized. Spring has really sprung around here and I LOVE it. My irises will be blooming any second now and that makes me happy!

Did you know that today is the 121st anniversary of the Oklahoma Land Run? If you'd like more information on that you can follow the link. It's also Earth Day, are you living green? We try to around here.

ranette

It's been a crazy busy time

around our house for the last couple of weeks and my computer/blogging time has taken a hit, along with quilting time. Poor me :o) I don't have anything to show on the quilt front....I am trying to finish up some projects though so maybe soon I'll have a couple of finishes. I do have my Great Pumpkin blocks all ready to machine applique which was quite time consuming. This has been an ongoing project for two plus years and it's time to just get 'er done! I'm also pushing to get my Pie's and Tart's quilt finished by the end of April. I've got all of the pie's done and am working on getting the tart's ready for hand applique. When I get these two quilt tops done I'm going to start a new quilt...not sure yet what I will do, but there's lots to choose from!

I was out of town for a few days and my husband kindly took this picture of our Crab Apple tree that is in our front yard so I wouldn't completely miss out on it's beauty

Here's a picture of the Wisteria that is in the front yard of our old house.

I just love the way a Wisteria smells while it's blooming. We have a huge one in our backyard now, but it doesn't bloom, it just gets green leaves in the Spring.

Well it's almost time to cook some dinner and settle in for an evening of applique. I am thinking I'll get a giveaway together for this weekend. Enjoy your evening or morning! ranette

It has been my pleasure....

to get to know this wonderful, funny, lovely young lady. For the last 20 years she has been a bright spot in the lives of all who are fortunate enough to know her. Her Daddy, her sisters and I are all very Blessed!
Happy 20th Birthday Sweet Kara....

I love you Karabear....mama